Shadow of Doubt
by Destiny13
Summary: ONE SHOT-Sirius is worried that maybe making Peter the Potters' secret-keeper wasn't the best idea......


Disclaimer: Harry Potter in no way shape or form my property and I am not being paid for writing this story.

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Hey everybody! I was feeling inspired and decided to write a one shot story about Sirius. I thought about it and decided to write about how he started worrying that maybe Peter wasn't trustworthy and this was the result. Reviews are always welcome and I greatly appreciate any comments and constructive criticism. If you like this story you'll probably like my other serious story, "How It Started", which is about Lily, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter's first year at Hogwarts. Anywho, enjoy!

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**Shadow of Doubt  
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Unable to sleep, Sirius lay in bed staring at the ceiling, feeling more restless than usual. Try as he might he just couldn't seem to fall asleep, and boy did he wish he could. When he lay awake like this he thought about things too much and it made him feel depressed and angry. So many had suffered because of Voldemort and there was no end in sight. If anything, it was getting worse. Sirius also had even more reason to worry because two of his best friends, Lily and James, had named him the godfather of their new baby, Harry James Potter. Harry had just turned a year old the previous month and looked more and more like his father everyday, except his eyes. His brilliant green eyes were unmistakably his mother's.

After Harry had been born, Professor Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the only one whom Voldemort feared, had suggested that the Potters go into hiding. He hadn't elaborated, but he had mentioned that Voldemort was after them and that their safety was at risk. Lily and James had decided to take Dumbledore's advice and over the past few weeks, following Harry's first birthday party, had made arrangements to go into hiding. Using some charm or other (Sirius didn't care to know the details), they would seemingly disappear into thin air.

The charm was surprisingly simple and involved concealing the secret of their whereabouts inside one other person. The only way someone could know where and how to find them, would be if that person, the secret-keeper, told them. Originally Sirius was going to be the secret-keeper but at the last minute, at his instance, they'd changed plans. Instead, Peter Pettigrew, a long time friend from school would take his place. Sirius felt it was the perfect bluff because since he was James' best friend, not Peter, everyone would assume he was the secret-keeper instead, thereby allowing for extra security.

However, now Sirius was having second thoughts and he wondered if Peter could be trusted with such an enormous task. After all, Peter was a wimpy little twit who wasn't all that bright either. Sure the guy had always seemed loyal but maybe he wasn't quite what he seemed. There had always been something odd about him, something a bit ominous even, as if he would turn traitor in an instant.

Deciding it couldn't hurt to just check up on his friends, Sirius rolled out of bed. He pulled on his shoes and socks and grabbed his shirt and cloak of the nearby chair. He also grabbed his wand off his bedside table, and hurried outside to where he kept his motorbike, pocketing the wand as he went. He hopped on his bike and turned it on. He smiled slightly and revved the engine just a little. In the back of his mind a little voice urged him to hurry and soon he was high in the air, and flying over suburbs and farmland. He quickly arrived at Peter's hiding place, a small shabby looking house outside Hogsmeade.

There were no lights on as Sirius walked up the front steps. He glanced around for anything suspicious then knocked four times in quick succession. No answer. He waited a few minutes, growing uneasier as the seconds ticked away. He knocked again, but still no answer.

Now he knew something was up. Peter had always been a light sleeper, something Sirius, James and their friend Remus Lupin had discovered when they'd try and sneak out of Gryffindor Tower during their school years.

Sirius jiggled the doorknob and found it unlocked, something that made him even more concerned. As the door swung open, the hair on the back of his neck prickled.

Brushing his long black hair out of his face, Sirius slowly entered, wand at the ready. Slowly but surely he headed down the hallway, looking for anything out of the ordinary. He was definitely growing more and more nervous now. Peter never left his door unlocked, he was just that kind of guy, always paranoid about one thing or another.

Sirius entered the bedroom and searched for any sign of disturbance but found nothing. The bed was neatly made as if it hadn't been touched since morning and all the books were still stacked neatly on the desk, so where was Peter?

Sirius headed back down the hallway towards the living room, maybe he would find something there. He entered, all his senses on full alert.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of movement.

"Stupefy!" he roared and the spell shot from his wand.

He hurried over, expecting to find something, maybe even Peter, but instead found just a spider.

He sighed and his muscles relaxed slightly. "Enervate," he muttered and the spider sprang back to life and scuttled away.

And then he saw it. Beside the fireplace, clear as day in the ash and dust that spilled out of the grate were several footprints. Crouching low to study them, he made out four distinct sets. One was clearly Peter's, he had a thing for high top sneakers at the moment, but the other three...

One set clearly had to belong to a woman, as it was unmistakably the outline of a high-heeled boot of some description. The other two were most likely from men, one looked like a pair of work boots and the other looked like Oxford dress shoes.

As Sirius stood up, he noticed a small silver broach lying on the ground nearby. He scooped it up and studied it. There was something all to familiar about that crest . . . . . .

"Bellatrix," Sirius hissed, and his eyes blazed with fury.

He'd never been fond of his cousin, or any of his family really, but over the past few years his hatred had only intensified when . . . . . .

Sirius didn't want to think about it, it was still too painful. He'd known about loss before but nothing had prepared him for when he'd lost. . . . . .

Sirius whirled around and chucked the broach at the wall as hard as he could. Breathing hard he struggled to get a hold of himself. He couldn't think about that now, there was no time to lose, he had to get to the Potters.

He ran outside and hopped back on his bike and was soon again high overhead. It seemed like an eternity before he landed in front of a sign that said Goderic's Hollow. He turned, determined to warn Lily and James before it was too late, but, to his horror, where their house once stood was only a pile of rubble.

"No!" he yelled as he raced over and began shifting through the rubble. "James! Lily! Harry!" he cried, "Oh god this is all my fault!"

Suddenly he heard it, the muffled crying of a baby.

He stopped, "Harry?" he whispered, not daring to believe it. He began attacking the rubble with even greater urgency. Maybe baby Harry was under there, maybe James was under there and maybe Lily was too. Maybe everything would be OK.

He pulled away a patch of shingles and his heart leaped. That red hair! It was Lily's!

"Lily!"

He tore away more rubble. And managed to roll Lily over on her side, but her once dancing green eyes that had always sparkled with life where now blank and empty. Even her hair was limp.

"Oh, Lily," Sirius moaned as he gently lifted her out of the rubble.

Underneath her was baby Harry, who was wailing like a fiend.

Sirius could hardly believe it. Lily must have shielded Harry from the collapsing house; he didn't look hurt at all. But underneath his hair Sirius noticed there was a thin lightning shaped scar.

"Shh, it's OK," Sirius whispered, as he lifted Harry up out of the mess. He rocked him gently in his arms, "I'm here little guy."

There was the sound of heavy footsteps and Sirius whirled around, ready for anything.

"Oh, it's just you Hagrid," he said, breathing a sigh of relief.

The larger man smiled down at him, "Hello Sirius," he said, "I see Dumbledore was right, the little tyke's OK."

"Yeah," Sirius said, "But Lily and James. . . . . ."

"It's just bloody awful," Hagrid said with a sniff, "But it looks like they'll be the last."

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.

"Didn't you hear?" Hagrid said, "When You-Know-Who attacked little Harry here the spell backfired on him. Looks like he's gone."

"What?" exclaimed Sirius, "But how?"

Hagrid shrugged, "Who knows?" he said, "But Dumbledore wants me to take little Harry here to his aunt and uncle's."

"But I'm his godfather!" Sirius said, "Why can't I take care of him?"

"Dumbledore thinks it would be best if Harry went to live with his relatives," Hagrid said, "I'm sorry Sirius but you'll have to talk to Dumbledore 'bout it."

"But. . . . . . ."

"I have to Sirius," Hagrid said apologetically, "I'm just doing as Dumbledore says."

Sirius nodded slowly, "Yeah, yeah, Dumbledore knows best," he murmured and he slowly handed Harry over to Hagrid. "But Lily. . . . . . and James. . . . ." Sirius said as he stared down at Lily's lifeless body.

"They're in a better place," Hagrid reassured him as he patted Sirius' shoulder, "And Harry's still here and we'll all definitely going to need to look out for him."

Sirius nodded, "Yeah," he agreed as he stroked Harry's hair, slowly tracing the scar, "Poor kid. I'll be there for you Harry, don't you worry."

"Well, I'd better get going," Hagrid said, "Don't want to keep Dumbledore waitin' any longer. Good-bye Sirius."

"Bye Hagrid," Sirius said, and Hagrid turned to leave, "Wait, Hagrid."

Hagrid turned, "Yeah?" he said.

"You want to take my bike?" Sirius asked, "It'll get you there a lot faster and I won't be needing it anymore."

Hagrid smiled, "Sure," he said, "Thanks Sirius."

Sirius managed a weak smile, "No problem," he said.

As he watched Hagrid fly off, Sirius couldn't help but wonder what would happen now. With Voldemort gone maybe everything would go back to the way it had been before but so many had suffered. All Sirius knew for sure was that he would find that no good rat Peter and make him pay for his crimes if it was the last thing he did.

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So that's it, I hope you enjoyed it. I'm quite happy with the way it turned out and I would appreciate any feedback from you on how I could improve my writing in future stories. That being said, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope all of you have wonderful Holidays and a prosperous new year.

Megan


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